1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cage traps for trapping small-to medium-sized animals without harming the animal for subsequent release and/or relocation. Such traps commonly comprise a cage of metal wire mesh with at least one trigger door. Upon entering, the animal typically trips a pedal on the cage floor for closing the door and trapping the animal inside. Such trap configurations are prone to sticking open or closing prematurely. This invention represents an improvement over such known cage trigger devices.
Prior art cage traps have specific setting and releasing mechanisms which typically include a floor pedal or “pan”, trigger rod, latching device, door, locking device and spring member. To set such traps, the locking device is disengaged, the cage door opened and the latch set.
A problem with known cage traps is the complexity and unreliability of floor trigger/actuation mechanisms. With designs involving complicated set ups, the force required to trip the cage door can vary. If the required force is too great, the animal may avoid entrapment altogether. Alternately, there could be a bunch of false trips if one cannot consistently stabilize the cage into its set (i.e., pre-triggered) position. Hence, there is also a need for cage trap triggers that are not complex in mechanical design, easy to set, consistent in trip force, and yet more reliable to use.
2. Description of Relevant Art
There are several known representative prior art devices. They include the dual door trap device of Mogren U.S. Pat. No. 2,562,809; the pivotal jaw arms for the animal trap device of Bustle U.S. Pat. No. 4,549,368; the weight-adjusted, balancing gravitational trap of Kao et al U.S. Pat. No. 6,588,139 and over-centering latch mechanism from Bucher U.S. Pat. No. 7,757,427. None of the foregoing teaches or suggests the combination of aspects for the present invention shown and described herein.